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Amazon, Google and Intel join forces to fight off patent trolls

Lobbying group aims to put trolls back under their bridge

A GAGGLE (right?) of tech firms, including Amazon, Google and Intel, have joined forces in a bid to better fight off patent trolls in the US.

The lobbying group, officially named the High Tech Innovators Alliance (HTIA), this week received the backing of Adobe, Amazon, Cisco, Dell, Google, Intel, Oracle and Salesforce, who will each plough money, expertise and resources into the effort.

In its mission statement, HTIA says it wants to work with Congress to pass new laws that would make it more difficult for patent trolls to operate in the US, as well as with the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) to introduce reforms on patent reviews.

The group, which notes that baseless patent assertions have nearly tripled since 2015, says it also wants to change the way in which patent awards are decided and, ultimately, work to rid of patent trolls altogether.

John Thorne, the Alliance's general counsel and spokesperson, said: "Innovation means creating new and better products and services. It is fundamental to the success of the high-tech industry and its ability to drive economic growth and create American jobs.

"Collectively our members spent $62.9 billion on research and development last year and they have over 447,000 employees here in the United States.

"When the patent system does not function well, it undermines rather than supports innovation, to the detriment of all Americans - inventors, employees, investors in productive businesses and ultimately, consumers."

Earlier this year Intel, now a member of HTIA, came out victorious in a case against a patent troll and dodged a potential $2bn fine. The troll in question is called AVM, and it claimed that Intel infringed one of its patents in its Pentium 4, Core 2, Sandy Bridge, Ivy Bridge and Haswell designs. µ